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Door into Mountain
The Door into Mountain was a huge wooden door built into the base of a steep mountain in Daventry, leading into the cave system behind it and up to the Land of the Clouds. Background The mountain is part of the Great Mountains chain though it may mostly stand alone, surrounded by Daventry's countryside at least one pass leads down from the Great Mountains to the foot of Daventry's mountain. At the base of the mountain is the Door itself, the door was made of oak, with a gold lock, it was heavy and swung open on hinges. Just inside the door, the cave system included great moss-covered and slippery stone staircases. The treacherous paths of the cave lead up to the Land of the Clouds, a plateau whose edges were surrounded by clouds and mist. When Graham was sent on the quest to find the Three Great Treasures of Daventry he discovered the huge door. But as it was locked (he could see the stairs through the keyhole), and he went elsewhere. Later after guessing an old gnome's name, he received an alternative way up to the Land of the Clouds via a Beanstalk vine grown from magic beans. Once he had procured the Magic Chest of Gold from a giant there, he travelled down through the mountain, through the door, and was back into the foothills of Daventry. At the time of Graham's quest through Daventry the mountain was just west of Lake Maylie to the northwest of Castle Daventry, but in time following his quest, it somehow shifted southeast of the castle near to the Ancient Well which has always lay near Castle Daventrydark pool of water leads to the bottom of the ancient well near King Edward's castle., but may have shifted some itself. This was have been caused by the magical law of "containment" which affected the area during Graham's time, and possibly due to the magical flux that changes the world sometimes daily, or perhaps shifted by the great earthquakes that later ravaged the kingdom. Under Graham, Daventry prospered, and returning citizens rebuilt the town of Daventry which had gone into ruin in Edward's time, in time the town extended to the base of the mountain, and to the Ancient Well which became a source of water for the village. But later the Three-headed Dragon came from the north sowing destruction as it went. It made its home at the top of the mountain in the Land of the Clouds, and rent much damage to the area at the base of the mountain. Much of the town was left in ruins or crumbling at the base of the mountain, and to the north by the Dragon's destruction. The scattered fallen boulders from the mountain and debris of the remaining ruins lay at the base of the cliff near the former door, now left crumbling by the Dragon's destruction. To the south a great chasm had been created by one of the great earthquakes that ripped through the area forming what was to be known as the Great TearNarrator (KQ3): "Huge boulders lie scattered about, apparently from tumbling down the mountain.", "The ground is strewn with large boulders. A deep chasm cuts into it.", "A deep chasm has split the earth on this side of the mountain. You wonder if an earthquake had once struck Daventry and caused the destruction you see before you. You see nothing of interest across it.", "You gaze into the cave-like entrance. You see nothing but crumbly stone steps leading upward." Years later Alexander journeyed across the Great Snowy Mountains into Daventry, coming around the base of mountain near the door. The door had been shattered exposing the cave behind, and he saw the ruins of the once great town that lay near it. Alexander climbed the crumbly and steep stairs up to the Cloudland in order to save his sister who was going to be sacrificed to a Three-headed dragon that was terrorizing the kingdom. After defeating the dragon he freed his sister, and both travelled back down the mountain into Daventry through the caves. Following the return of his son and daughter, Graham enjoyed taking picnics to the mountain with his family and has been known to defeat a dragon or two there as well.Hoyle I Alexander climbed the gentle sloping backside of the mountain and headed southwest to reach western sections of Daventry on his way to the Floating Castle. Later Graham was returning from Lake Maylie which had shifted to the west of the Door into Mountain (no longer east of the mountain), climbed up the rise and looked down to his missing castle. later Graham and his family climbed down the slope once the castle had been restored. Beyond the summit of the rise lies a series of smaller hills. Other accounts Some say the door itself is magical, able to vanish when the key is inserted or unlocked from the inside rather than swinging open. The door would reappear after the person had passed through the portal. It is said there is a walkway ramp made from large wooden planks inside the mountain accessible from the path near the door. The walkways were attached firmly to the cave's walls and floor, and/or suspended from the ceiling. Some say when Graham came to the door he couldn't see anything beyond the keyhole as it was too dark. Behind the scenes If Graham had failed to figure out the old gnome's name, he would have been given the key to the Door into Mountain instead of the magic beans. The door has two ways of opening depending on the game. In original KQ1, the door swings open on large hinges. In the remake the door magically disappears, and then reappears after the person has passed through. In KQ3 the door has been ripped from its hinges. In KQ1AGI and KQ3the Door into the mountain leads up a steep stone staircase up to the Land of the Clouds. Although the staircase does not appear in KQ1SCI remake, instead Graham makes his way up suspended wooden platforms. A line left over from the original game or based on the original game's script is left in the files, in it the staircase is mentioned suggesting that Graham could see it when he looked through the keyhole in the doorNarrator (KQ1SCI): "Through the keyhole you can dimly see a staircase. It looks like it might go up into the mountain.". However, attempting to look through the keyhole in the game only defaults to narrator mentioning that its a 'gold lock', and that somewhere, there is large key that fits the lock. Interestingly in KQ1 the Door into Mountain is located directly north of Castle Daventry just west of Lake Maylie. According to notes in the official KQ2 Hintbook, the door was located "...north and west of the garden..."KQ2 Hintbook, pg 14 It appears this way in the King's Quest Companion as well. In King's Quest 3 the mountain appears south of Castle Daventry just east of the Ancient Well. This was caused by magical flux that routinely alters the world, as well as possibly a result of the terrible calamities that befell Daventry. Interestingly, whereas in KQ3 (and possibly KQ1AGI), the Door into Mountain is part of a mountain range, in KQ1SCI it's suggested that it is a "large mountain which overlooks the Daventry countryside. In the maps in the various editions of the companion it has been portrayed as either part of a large mountain range on the edge of Daventry, or as lone mountain in the center of Daventry (this can be explained by the magical 'containment' barrier that surrounded the kingdom at one time that warped directions, or by changes due to magical flux). In KQ5 or Floating Castle the mountain is not specifically mentioned by name, however the rise above the castle to the south maybe an interpretation of backside of the mountain from KQ3. No mention of this rise appears in Kingdom of Sorrow, or See No Weevil, though See No Weevil does mention low-lying hills to the south, and Floating Castle mentions there being other hills beyond the first rise. Though both Graham and Rosella pass through those areas in the stories. Suggesting it came later after the Dragon came to the kingdom. The The Official Book of King's Quest VI refers to the suspended platforms in KQ1SCI as the Ramp. References Category:Mountains Category:Places (KQ1) Category:Places (KQ3) Category:Places (TKQC) Category:Doors Category:Ruins of Daventry Category:Caves Category:Great Mountains